Behind the Sample: Nancy Sinatra and Robbie Williams

In the final moments of last night's Mad Men season finale, Don Draper sits down in the lounge and orders an old fashioned.  Just moments afterward, a couple of young and attractive females proposition the show's protagonist, asking if he's alone.  Before we can discover the Ad Man's answer, the scene blacks out, and Nancy Sinatra's 'You Only Live Twice' saunters in the background, carrying the show out on a hopeful--albeit muted--note.  Will Don continue living the virtues of his new life with second spouse Megan?  Or will he revert to the not so virtuous ways of his past?

As I was taking in this final scene, I had that all too familiar nagging feeling.  I knew I'd heard this song before, even though I never really had.  Thankfully, it only took me a few moments of self reflection to realize that 'You Only Live Twice' featured the same sampling as the late-nineties smash 'Millennium' by Robbie Williams.  In 1999, I probably heard Robbie Williams' take on the sampling only a few hundred times.  Conversely, I had never encountered Nancy's version, even though it was the theme song to one of the Sean Connery Bond films.  Nevertheless, I felt a little sheepish having not realized until this moment that the most iconic part of 'Millennium' was borrowed from another song 22 years its senior.  

Below, I've posted videos to both songs.  Listen to the two of them in succession to discover the music behind the sample:

    

Caught On Tape: Robbie Williams - 'Rock DJ'

When Robbie Williams burst onto the American pop culture scene (ca.1999) with his hit single, 'Millenium,' he was already rich and famous in his British homeland. However, I was completely out of the loop and had no idea. So, I can distinctly remember watching the music video, and thinking, "Who is this weiner? And why is he pretending to be so wealthy and popular?"

Well, little did I know that he had cut his teeth in the early 90s brit-pop sensation, Take That - which could be taken as the UK's answer to New Kids on the Block. Remember the song 'Back for Good?' Well, while Take That never took off as much in the USA, their popularity overseas helped pave the way for Williams' extravagant solo endeavors. His first American success wasn't gained until the release of The Ego Has Landed, which had been produced as a compilation album.

In 2000, Williams followed up his success with a fresh album - aptly-titled, Sing When You're Winning. This album spawned the popular single, 'Rock DJ.' What helped propel 'Rock DJ' to fame was the shock value of its music video. Creative and a bit disgusting, the video portrays Williams singing to a group of his adoring fans. And throwing himself to them...literally. The video takes a slightly naughty twist from the get go, as Williams begins to perform a striptease to his song - throwing his clothes to the crowd as he goes. Before long, ol' Robbie is as naked as a jay bird, with only a little video editing to cover up necessary areas. But the video doesn't end there.

This darkly humorous video is clever in that it seems to pose a valid question: 'What more can an artist give once he's been stripped of his clothes?' If you haven't seen the video and are interested in finding out Robbie Williams' answer to that question, look no further. And, if you HAVE seen it before, well...another viewing surely won't hurt.




"What's a guy gotta do to get a little attention around here?!"